£1.1bn plea by American Airlines

Wednesday 5 February 2003 18:46 BST

AMERICAN Airlines has asked its unions and other workers for $1.8bn (£1.09bn) in annual cost cuts, in what it called a 'last resort' to turn the airline around. Its president, Gerard Arpey, said unions were aware of the magnitude of the financial problems and while liquidity was good, the talks 'can't take forever'.